BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The jolly elf is a beloved icon of the holiday season. And this year, one of the most popular mainstays of holiday elf culture, Office Depot’s (NASDAQ:ODP) Elf Yourself® is back and better than ever with new augmented reality (AR) features¹ that will allow users to create holiday greetings with an even greater level of creativity and personalization.
“Over the past decade, the ‘Elf Yourself’ experience has brought over a billion elves into the world, bringing holiday cheer and excitement to all those who have ‘elfed’ themselves or been ‘elfed’ by someone else,” said Natalie Malaszenko, resident elf expert and vice president of digital and B2B marketing for Office Depot, Inc. “Our passion has always been rooted in finding new ways for people to unleash their inner elf, and this year we are able to kick this up to a whole new level due to our new AR capabilities.”
The AR features are easy to use – with a simple tap, you can have Santa’s little helpers rocking out on the screen of your phone as your friends and family dance alongside them. And this year you can turn your favorite frame into a custom holiday card, which can be easily ordered from any Office Depot or OfficeMax print center in store, online or through its mobile app. “You can really get creative – now that you can use any background you capture on your phone, the possibilities are endless,” said Malaszenko. “We can’t wait to see what #ElfYourself creations people will come up with this holiday season.”
Beyond the new AR features, you can expect to see all your favorite dances back this year joined by three fresh scenes. Mischievous elves are sneaking out of Santa’s workshop for some fresh air and sightseeing – shimmying under the Northern Lights in a magical winter wonderland. Back at Santa’s Workshop, elves are taking care of business, prepping for the big day with a little pep in their step.
For those gearing up for Hanukkah, Office Depot is teaming up with the Mensch on a Bench for another great Hanukkah dance. The Jewish a cappella group Six13 will be singing sweet tunes as Moshe the Mensch gets down with a street style dance-off.
"The Mensch on a Bench is thrilled to team up with Elf Yourself for the third year in a row to develop a fun new tradition for Jewish families,” said Neal Hoffman, creator of Mensch on a Bench. “Turning yourself into a mensch and dancing to Dreidel Dreidel Dreidel is guaranteed to bring smiles to everyone’s faces - just in time to celebrate Hanukkah!"
Since the inception of Elf Yourself® in 2006, 1.5 billion elves have been created and over 564 million sessions globally. The updated app is available to download today at elfyourself.com or through your mobile app store. To create videos with Elf Yourself®, users simply upload up to five photos from either their camera roll, Facebook or taken on the app, select a dance theme, and the app generates a custom Elf Yourself® video to share with friends and family via email and social media platforms, as well as embed into websites and blogs.
About Office Depot, Inc.
Office Depot, Inc. is a leading provider of office supplies, business products and services delivered through an omnichannel platform.
The company had 2016 annual sales of approximately $11 billion, employed approximately 38,000 associates, and served consumers and businesses in North America and abroad with approximately 1,400 retail stores, award-winning e-commerce sites and a dedicated business-to-business sales organization – with a global network of wholly owned operations, franchisees, licensees and alliance partners. The company operates under several banner brands including Office Depot®, OfficeMax®, BizBox, CompuCom®, Complete Office and Grand&Toy®. The company’s portfolio of exclusive product brands include TUL®, Foray®, Brenton Studio®, Ativa®, WorkPro®, Realspace® and Highmark®.
Office Depot, Inc.’s common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “ODP.”
Office Depot, Foray, Ativa and Realspace are trademarks of The Office Club, Inc. OfficeMax, TUL, Brenton Studio, WorkPro and Highmark are trademarks of OMX, Inc. CompuCom is a trademark of CompuCom Systems, Inc. and Complete Office is a trademark of Complete Office Solutions, LLC. Grand&Toy is a trademark of Grand & Toy, LLC in Canada. ©2017 Office Depot, Inc. All rights reserved. Any other product or company names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.
1 On AR enabled devices. Compatible with iOs 6S or higher and select Android devices
